Perhaps the hype that turned Connor Bedard into a near-mythical figure during his draft year was justified after all.
After taking a small step forward during his second season, Bedard, 20, has taken a Bigfoot-sized step forward during his third season, pulling the Blackhawks along with him.
He’s rapidly ascending into a small circle of the world’s best players, cementing himself as not just a future superstar but a current one. He’s looking and sounding the part now, too, having found his voice and realized he’s free to be himself on this stage.
Bedard’s two-point performance in the Hawks’ victory Wednesday against his hometown Canucks moved him into a tie for ninth in the NHL in scoring with 18 points in 14 games. He’s riding a six-game point streak, having racked up 11 of them (including his first career hat trick) during that span.
Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson called these “the best games he’s played in the NHL,” echoing the thoughts of everyone else watching. Bedard is taking over one shift after another, making his presence felt constantly.
“Connor has been consistently . . . committed to winning hockey,” coach Jeff Blashill said Wednesday. “He’s competed extraordinarily hard. He’s done all the winning things. He hasn’t been perfect, but, man, he’s [shown] a lot of good, winning hockey habits.
“He has been rewarded offensively because of it, and we’ve been rewarded as a team because of it. [I’m] really impressed with the approach he’s taken all season long.”
Bedard’s notable stats go on and on. Since Oct. 17, he’s tied for second in the league with 40 shots on goal, trailing only Nathan MacKinnon. He added another five Wednesday (on 13 shots).
Looking at five-on-five play — the Hawks’ power play has been iffy — Bedard is tied for fifth with 11 points, two back of the league lead.
Bedard is better at faceoffs, reducing that weakness. He has won a healthy 51.9% of his draws the last 12 games since struggling on the opening trip.
His offseason work on his skating has paid off because he’s clearly faster. He already has had five speed bursts faster than 22 mph, a threshold he never reached last season. Bedard has 51 bursts faster than 20 mph, so he’s going to blow past his total of 70 last season. He ranks third among NHL forwards with 42.4 cumulative miles skated.
He’s also taking advantage of that newfound speed, altering his mental calculations of whom he can outrace on the rush and which loose pucks he can reach first. An example is his assist to Andre Burakovsky on Monday: He chipped the puck ahead through the neutral zone and still beat Kraken defensemen Vince Dunn and Adam Larsson to it.
GOAL: Andre Burakovsky finally gets the Blackhawks on the board. Great effort from Bedard to set it up pic.twitter.com/Jld5olLNk5
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) November 4, 2025
And Bedard is more well-rounded, giving full effort defensively and away from the puck and demonstrating improved skills in those areas. Blashill deserves credit for talking to him frequently all summer about the importance of those facets.
He’s hustling on the backcheck, hounding puck-carriers, getting crafty in board battles and simply outworking most opponents.
Plus-minus is a flawed stat, but the contrast between his rating this season (plus-seven) and the last two seasons (minus-80) is eye-opening. His deeper analytics (such as expected-goals ratio) remain oddly mediocre, but it sounds like the Hawks’ internal analytics are more flattering.
The one rival Bedard isn’t gaining ground on is Macklin Celebrini, who also has taken a big leap this season and finds himself tied with Connor McDavid for the league scoring lead with 21 points.
There’s no rule preventing Bedard and Celebrini from becoming superstars, though — and it appears likely both will. Neither the Hawks nor the Sharks would complain about an arms race between them elevating both into the stratosphere.
